Huawei surges with 5G lead amid renewed U.S. pressure

Shoppers look at smartphones on August 14 at a Huawei shop in Beijing, China. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Huawei said Tuesday it has signed more than 50 commercial 5G contracts, putting it ahead of the competition at a time where the U.S. administration continued to push its allies to isolate the Chinese telecommunications giant.

Finnish cellphone maker Nokia and Swedish firm Ericsson, both major competitors to Huawei, have so far signed similar deals, but neither has reached the 50-mark, CNBC reported. Experts believe 5G is necessary to provide elevated data speeds needed to operate future technologies, like automated vehicles.

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"Huawei's 5G products are world-leading products, with the highest level of maturity in terms of commercialization," William Xu, a member of Huawei's board of directors, said. "And Huawei will continue to develop its 5G technology steadily."

The achievement is critical for Huawei because it remains barred from doing business with government and civil entities in the United States, which has declared the Chinese company a national security threat. The Commerce Department added Huawei affiliates to its blacklist last month. The addition placed more than 100 companies and individuals connected with Huawei from operating freely with U.S. businesses.

The United States, however, isn't the only nation opposed to doing business with Huawei. A company official warned India Tuesday that banning its services would delay the introduction of 5G service in the Middle Eastern nation for up to three years.

"European operators have mentioned that without Huawei's 5G technology, the 5G rollout will be postponed by two-three years," Ritchie Peng, a marketing officer with Huawei, told reporters.

"We hold the same expectation for the India market as we will use our fast 5G technology to meet the needs of the Indian operators and consumers because now we shall focus on how we can use our best technology to serve their needs."

Of Huawei's new contracts, 28 are in Europe but none are in India, which is the world's second-largest mobile services market.

"For several months, the U.S. government has been leveraging its political and diplomatic influence to lobby other governments to ban Huawei equipment," Huawei said in a statement Tuesday.

"Furthermore, it has been using every tool at its disposal - including both judicial and administrative powers, as well as a host of other unscrupulous means -- to disrupt the normal business operations of Huawei and its partners."

Huawei has accused the Trump administration of law enforcement harassment, entrapment, cyberattacks, conspiring with other companies, making unproven cases of technology theft, denying visas and detaining shipments to disrupt business.